About using Microsoft Dynamics NAV in construction business

Tag Archives: Contracting

When Construction Position has been created, you can configure additional parameters. These are many additional functionality related to positions:

Comments

Extended Texts

Translation

Cross-reference

Prices

Comments

You can use comments for each Cons. Position as on all standard NAV pages.

Extended Texts

If standard description fields (50+50 characters) is not enough for position description, you can use standard NAV functionality ‘Extended Texts’. As standard NAV, you can use for all language or for specific language and with Start/End Date.

You can fill any lines you want (with 50 characters) and system will connect them for reporting. You can choose document where you want to see position extended texts. Beside standard NAV documents, you can choose additional:

Bill of Quantity

Output Order

Register Output

Monthly Report (Book of Quantity)

Invoice /Certification

Translation

If you want to translate Cons. Position to another language for reporting, beside Extended Texts you can use standard Translation page.

Cross-reference

Cross-reference has the same reasons for using as on Items. In construction business, this functionality is often using. Cross-reference gives you the opportunity to set different Code and/or Description from source Cons. Position. If you set Code on this list, this Code will be presented on all documents and it is also be viewed on pages. The same applies for descriptions.

It is important to know that you do this for all customers or projects. You can use the same Cons. Position on many projects and all of them may have different codes and/or descriptions. If you have conflict between project and customer setup, system will use project setting. If you have different code on the same project, you can set different codes/descriptions on subtypes of project (Job Task). If you have conflict between project and project + subtype, system will use project setting + subtype.

You can configure Extended Text for cross-reference regardless Extended Text on position. This enable a lot of setup possibility.

Prices

If you use fix prices for Construction Position without calculation, you can use Position Price List fir this. You can set different prices for each projects and for each different currency. For each combination, you can set Start/End Date for configured price. System has log based on Date and User ID for all changes about prices.

Analysis

From Construction Position Card, you can start next analysis:

Statistic: represent complete essence analysis about of Usage, Sales and Profit in quantity, costs and prices;

Entries: all entries in Job Ledger Entry (resource and item consumption) or in Position Ledger Entry (position output) for source Cons. Position;

Situations: list of all certification where source position is invoiced.

Construction Position is single contract work and represent project WBS. This is a new NAV entity (specially created for NAV4Construction) and it is the center of all evidences in the construction processes. At any time you can check out how much work is done by position for the required period (quantities, costs, prices, profit/loss…). It is possible to monitor the actual expenses incurred in order to perform the position. At the same position it is possible to see what has already been invoiced. It is also possible to monitor and get the real costs, both in amount and in percentage. This monitoring is possible for each specific position or for the entire position group. Position has related Construction Norm with specification of consumption (resources, items, subcontractors). One or more versions of norms and price analysis for each norm can be defined for each position.

You can find Construction Positions on two location:

Quantity Surveyor Section->Position->Positions

Construction->Position->Positions

This is the same table, but it is used by both departments. QSS works on creating and preparing specific data and Construction works on usage them.

When you look up at Construction Position window, I can infer that it is very similar as G/L Account or Dimension Value windows. Positions also has WBS user can do himself.

If you want create new position, you must start ‘New’ button. You need to fill Code, Description, Type (Standard, Heading, Total, Begin-Total, End-Total), Base Unit of Measure (system can use many Unit of Measures as UOM on Items), Group Code (for group analysis), Normative (will be described in later posts), Gen. Prod. Posting Group and VAT Prod. Posting Group. If you have incomplete data on Construction Position, it will be automatically blocked. You can set another additional specific parameters.

We will use Construction positions from Quantity Surveyor to operational usage and analyzing. At any time we can check out how much work is done by position for the required period. It is possible to monitor the actual expenses incurred in order to perform the position. At the same position it is possible to see what has already been invoiced. It is also possible to monitor and get the real costs, both in amount and in percentage. This monitoring is possible for each specific position or for the entire position group.

One or more versions of normative and price analysis for each normative can be defined for each construction position. It is possible to make the selection of the best norms in the desired position on the actual costs basis. These data are calculated using an automated calculation of cost of materials, products and resources cost accounting. Beside the actual costs, the system can perform analysis and costs on vendor quotes or planed costs basis. Standard processing like “adjust cost of items” is fully applicable in this process.

Actual costs are calculated based on the direct and indirect material cost, as well as the calculation of the finished products cost based on the real material cost and actual consumption in manufacturing capacity. In a similar method, the system enables a calculation of the actual cost of engaged resources, based on the actual costs that are defined for each resource, as well as the total time of their engagement.

Based on the so-defined positions and norms, creating each project and monitoring its life cycle, it is possible to create a Bill of Quantities and follow it through all phases of contracting. In BoQ, we enter all construction position for project with their description and quantity, based on contract. Costs of construction position, we automatic calculate from linked norms and price analysis. On the other hand, actual cost of resources and items (material and goods) in price analysis, we get from integrated automatic cost accounting. From this document, we can make real analysis with cost, price and margin for complete project and for each position, and we can print Construction Quote.

Besides defining all entities and Bill of Quantities as a single primary document, it is possible to create dynamic execution plans on these data basis. This dynamic execution plan reserves necessary inventories and resources, bearing in mind the availability of all resources. Complete inventory reserving is integrated with standard material planning in requisition and planning worksheets in NAV.